Natasha Lomas
Writer
The Latest from Natasha Lomas
Big tech’s ‘blackbox’ algorithms face regulatory oversight under EU plan
Major Internet platforms will be required to open up their algorithms to regulatory oversight under proposals European lawmakers are set to introduce next month. In a speech today Commission EVP Margr
Passion Capital backs UK fertility workplace benefits provider, Fertifa
U.K.-based Fertifa has bagged a £1 million (~$1.3 million) seed to plug into a fertility-focused workplace benefits platform. Passion Capital is investing in the round, along with some unnamed strate
UK watchdog reduces Marriott data breach fine to $23.8M, down from $123M
The U.K.’s ICO has reduced the size of a data breach penalty for hotel business Marriott — dropping it to £14.4 million (~$23.8 million) in a final penalty notice, down from the £99 mill
Europe to limit how big tech can push its own services and use third-party data
European lawmakers are taking aim at big tech’s ability to push its own services in search results at the expense of rivals, with Commission EVP Margrethe Vestager confirming today that a legisl
Trump hints at stopping ‘powerful’ big tech in latest ‘get out the vote’ tweet
If there was any doubt that yesterday’s flogging of big tech CEOs by Senate Republicans was anything other than an electioneering stunt, President Trump has thumped the point home by tweeting a
Google’s display advertising business is under antitrust probe in Italy
Italy’s competition authority has opened an antitrust investigation into Google’s display ad business — adding another allegation of abuse of a dominant position to the tech giant
Sidekick Health scores $20M for its gamified digital care platform
Nordic digital therapeutics company, Sidekick Health, has closed a $20 million Series A led by pan-European VC Wellington Partners and healthcare focused VC Asabys Partners. Existing investors, Novato
Google’s EU Android choice screen isn’t working say search rivals, calling for a joint process to devise a fair remedy
Google search engine rivals have dialled up pressure on the European Commission over the tech giant’s ‘pay-to-play’ choice screen for Android users in Europe — arguing the Google-d
Uber’s ‘robo-firing’ of drivers targeted in latest European lawsuit
Uber is facing another legal challenge in Europe related to algorithmic decision making. The App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU) filed a case, yesterday, with a court in the Netherlands seeking to
TravelPerk launches an API for COVID-19 restrictions
About a month after outting an open API platform for its customers to augment their apps, business trip SaaS startup TravelPerk has launched a standalone API product aimed at helping the wider travel
Here integrates what3words’ super simple address system into its in-car API
Geocoding startup what3words — which chunks the world into 3mx3m squares, giving each a unique three-word label to simplify location sharing — has nabbed another in-vehicle integration, vi
Facebook Dating launches in Europe after 9-month+ delay over privacy concerns
Facebook’s dating bolt-on to its eponymous social networking service has finally launched in Europe, more than nine months after an earlier launch plan was derailed at the last minute over priva
EU parliament backs tighter rules on behavioural ads
The EU parliament has backed a call for tighter regulations on behavioral ads (aka microtargeting) in favor of less intrusive, contextual forms of advertising — urging Commission lawmakers to al
Tiliter bags $7.5M for its ‘plug and play’ cashierless checkout tech
Tiliter, an Australian startup that’s using computer vision to power cashierless checkout tech that replaces the need for barcodes on products, has closed a $7.5 million Series A round of fundin
EU switches on cross-border interoperability for first batch of COVID-19 contacts tracing apps
The European Union has switched on cross-border interoperability for a first batch of COVID-19 contacts tracing apps that use Bluetooth proximity to calculate the exposure risk of smartphone users aft
Pimloc gets $1.8M for its AI-based visual search and redaction tool
U.K.-based Pimloc has closed a £1.4 million (~$1.8 million) seed funding round led by Amadeus Capital Partners. Existing investor Speedinvest and other unnamed shareholders also participated in the r
Instagram’s handling of kids’ data is now being probed in the EU
Facebook’s lead data regulator in Europe has opened another two probes into its business empire — both focused on how the Instagram platform processes children’s information. The act
EU’s Google-Fitbit antitrust decision deadline pushed into 2021
The deadline for Europe to make a call on the Google -Fitbit merger has been pushed out again — with EU regulators now having until January 8, 2021, to take a decision. The latest change to the
IAB Europe’s ad tracking consent framework found to fail GDPR standard
A flagship framework for gathering Internet users’ consent for targeting with behavioral ads — which is designed by ad industry body, the IAB Europe — fails to meet the required lega
Twitter changes its hacked materials policy in wake of New York Post controversy
Twitter has announced an update to its hacked materials policy — saying it will no longer remove hacked content unless it’s directly shared by hackers or those “acting in concert wit